Abundance Creating Resources You Already Have

You already have all the resources you need to accomplish all the things you want to achieve. Sound too good to be true, doesn't it? Fact is, it is true. You do have all the resources you need. All of them. The questions are:

how broad is your awareness of these resources

which resources are we talking of here?

and, for which needs? There are countless resources that each individual possesses. It would be nigh impossible and self-defeating to attempt to discuss and highlight even a quarter of these resources in a short discourse as this one. Let us take a look at a few of the resources you already have to accomplish all the things you want to achieve:

Creating Vision

You have probably heard it before, or you may even have said it yourself. "Where there is no vision, the people perish". In the absence of a compelling vision, people tend to be stuck in their present circumstances. They wallow in a 'comfort zone' and drift from self-pity to anxiety and anger. Where there is no vision people perish. Vision is neither wishful thinking, nor is it an expression of hope or a modified form of day-dreaming. Vision is the rare ability of standing in the future and looking at the past as it unfolded. While you are standing there, you make decisions from that 'future' (instead of from pressing present circumstances). For some vision is the ability to outline a point of convergence related to their personal focus. This means determining and acknowledging ahead of fact, the destination of one's efforts.

I suppose a plausible working definition should be: a portrayal of intended activities in vivid, clear crisp terms that capture human meaning and value. Visioning (the process of creating a vision) is one of the essential resource that affects your personal time record. Visioning comprises three aspects:

human meaning (what will it mean to me) This one consideration makes sure that the life you are pursuing derives from your own vision. It is to make sure that you are not pursuing someone else's vision of who you should become and where you should be. It is a tragedy tha many people are living other people's visions. Hopefully you are not one of the many!

value (what value will it add) It is very easy to be engaged in activities that do not add any value to your life. Seeking to provide an answer to this question will help in rooting out 'idling' activities.

stakeholders (who else is touched by my vision) There are people who can drive your vision, just as ther are people whose visions you can impact. When you create your vision, think of the impact of your own vision on the visions of others. Practical considerations when formulating a simple vision include asking:

what do I need to accomplish

how do I wish to accomplish it

by when do I want to accomplish it

what are my values

to what degree is there congruency between my vision and my values For more complicated visioning there will be more involved procedures.

On the whole, the importance of vision as a resource lies in the fact that it acts as a beacon.

Your Values

Closely tied to your vision are values. Values as a resource form a system (not a hierarchy) of what is acceptable and what is deplorable to you. In order to exploit this resource meaningfully, you must be in a position where you can clarify your values in each of the following areas:

personal development

work, and

relationships The idea here is that you will only operate resourcefully in areas that are congruent with your values. The second thing that you must do in order to meaningfully exploit this resource is to identify your value equivalents:

what do others have to do to meet your expectations

what do others have to do to violate your values

how do you judge when you are acting from your values

how do you judge when you are acting against your values The main reason you have to learn to operate within the constraints of your values is to bring integrity to your system. As it has been said, your values determine your quality.

Your Distinctive Abilities

Distinctive abilities are those abilities that distinguish one individual from the others. Such abilities set you apart from the crowd. Distinctive abilities set an individual in a class their own, making them non-pareil. They are the opposite of general abilities, and are characterized by:

they are foundational and broadbased

they are laterally transferable. You may need to think a little hard to identify some of the distinctive abilities that you possess. They are distinctive because, as I have already stated, they are those abilities that differentiate you from the next person. And they are distinctive because properly acknowledged, they may be used to create a competitive advantage for you in any situation. So, what are some of the distinctive abilities you have?

unpacking skills

Unpacking skills refer to those skills you call on when you have to decide which skill is needed in which situation. Think about it! When you do an omelet, which skill do you need? When you are typing on a keyboard, which skill do you need? And when you ride a bicycle, which skill do you need?

This may seem trite, but there are certain skills you may want to be consciously competent in. That is, you will need to know exactly the things that you do when you execute the particular skill. Right now you may wish to do a skills audit:

do I know which skills I have available to me?

do I know how to acquire skills on the fly?

broadening your maps

Okay, you do know what a map is and what it is used for. You also know that the map is not the territory. This is an imperative distinctive ability. Let me show you why. Imagine you have in your hands a map of an area that you are quite familiar with. You look at the map, and you realize that a lot of what is evident about the area is not reflected in the map. How useful will that map be? To you? And to a total stranger? Broadening your maps means being able to thoroughly understand the dimensions of your reality, being able to deconstruct those areas of your understanding that are no more relevant, useful or true. It is also means knowing how, where, and when to adjust or replace your maps. Broadening your maps may ultimately mean developing the courage to discard useless and obsolete maps. This is one distinctive ability that may mean the difference that makes the whole difference.

switching resources

The ability to switch resources means just that. Deciding when to replace a resource, which resource to complement and when, which resource to import, as well as when to do the adjusting in your resource allocation. Switching resources depends on a reliable feedback mechanism which is also a resource you develop. This ability comes in handy when you come across obstacles in what you are doing. To avoid madness, you switch your resources around so that you may get a different outcome from the one that you do not want. Haven't you switched resources before? I bet you have! I am being pretty selective here. I suppose if you can get yourself a piece of paper and a pen, you will come up with a long list of distinctive abilities you have. Give yourself some time to do it. They are your resources. You see, you already have all the resources you need to accomplish whatever you want to achieve.

Your Mentors

Mentors are trusted and/or experienced advisors. You do know the story of Telemachus in Homer's Odyssey ..., don't you?

Mentors can be:

someone you know personally

someone you admire (but do not know personally)

some fictional character There are two major functions a mentor is supposed to perform:

help you with the greatest external difficulty you are likely to face, and

help you with the greatest internal weakness that might stop you from developing. External difficulties refer to obstacles, hindrances and situations on the environmental level. The environmental level refers to the physical plane of performance. That is where the action is supposed to happen. It is filled with both constraints and opportunities. Internal weaknesses refer to self-referencing inclinations that are self-sabotaging. These come in the form of

self-doubt

low self-esteem

inaccurate self-concepts

exposure to and experience with the ISG strategy. [Let's talk about this for a while. The ISG strategy is the strategy that when used, guarantees total failure. You may have used this strategy in the past to generalize failure by assuming it is:

Internal (focusing exclusively and one-dimensionally on what you did wrong and self-blaming)

Stable (conceiving the pattern of failure as unchangeable)

Global (seeing failure in all areas of life)]

These internal weaknesses appear on the identity level of experience. They are about how you refer to yourself. They are the weaknesses that you refer to whenever you say: "I am stupid", "I am a donkey", I am mentally wounded", "I will never make it", "I am ..." The role of a mentor in helping you manage your external difficulties and internal weaknesses is invaluable. The beautiful thing is that it is easy to access this resource. These then are the resources you have available to yourself. I hope you have seen that you can never have any excuses. You already have all the resources that you need to accomplish all the things you want to achieve!

Let me table them quickly here for you

Creating Vision

Your Values

Your Distinctive Abilities

Your Mentors And you always thought you did not have any resources!

Ke o agile is an NLP Coach and editor of In TheZone (http://inthezone.port5.com), an NLP focused ezine that coaches you to create an abundant lifestyle through strategic goal setting, and motivation.